The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Shingles link to heart-attack risk
An attack of shingles can increase the risk of having a stroke or heart attack years later, new research suggests.
For people under the age of 40, the viral infection boosted the chances of a stroke by 74% and a heart attack by 50%.
Older individuals were less affected, but shingles increased their risk of a heartattackby10% andofa “mini-stroke” or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) by 15%.
Researchers studied data on 106,000 patients with shingles and 213,200 matched non-sufferers.
Forty people with shingles went on to experience a stroke, compared with 45 of those who did not have shingles. People under 40 affected by shingles were more than twice as likely to have a TIA.
Shingles is caused by the same virus responsible for chicken pox, which can lie dormant for years before producing a painful rash.
Stress and inflammation may explain the link between shingles and stroke, scientists believe.
Study author Dr Judith Breuer, from University College London, said: “Anyone with shingles, and especially younger people, should be screened for stroke risk factors.
“The shingles vaccine has been shown to reduce cases of shingles by about 50%. Studies are needed to determine whether vaccination can also reduce the incidence of stroke and heart attack.”